The present invention relates to metal detectors, and more particularly pertains to an improved metal detector especially adapted to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized deposit of metal objects into receptacles. The device of the invention finds particular applications in preventing the inadvertent disposal of surgical instruments into medical waste disposal receptacles in medical facilities and cutlery in restaurant trash cans, as well as preventing the smuggling of metal objects in trash cans and laundry hampers in jails and prisons.
One of the major problems in the health care industry today is the high cost of patient care. One of the contributing factors is the difficulty controlling waste in the hospital environment. In the operating room, surgical instruments are routinely discarded along with the disposable drapes and gowns after an operation. These expensive instruments are intended for reuse, and their disposal represents a substantial waste. A recent survey of randomly selected hospitals revealed that such wasteful disposal of surgical instruments amounted to losses between $30,000.00 to $50,000.00 per operating room.
By law, used disposable surgical drapes and gowns are deposited in a so-called "red bag" designed for infectious waste. Such red bags are approximately the size of a lawn and garden trash and leaf bag. The red bags are held for use in an open position in each operating room by a bag holder, typically in the form of a wheeled cart. Hospital personnel merely wad up used drapes and gowns and stuff them into the red bag for disposal. As can be readily appreciated, valuable surgical instruments, typically fashioned from an expensive grade of stainless steel, can easily become bundled with the used drapes and gowns, and disposed, inadvertently or otherwise. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device to detect the disposal of such surgical instruments to allow for their retrieval and reuse.
In penal institutions such as jails and prisons, prisoners are encouraged to participate in various jobs and vocational training programs including welding, mechanics, and machining. Some inmates thus have access to machine tools and stock materials from which they might fashion weapons. Receptacles for trash and laundry, although necessary in the daily operations of such penal institutions, create the potential for the smuggling by inmates of weapons and potential weapon stock material from shop and training areas to other locations. Accordingly, the monitoring and search of such receptacles places a substantial burden on guards, and thus increases the operating costs. It is thus an object of the invention to provide a device to assist in the monitoring of such receptacles to prevent the unauthorized deposit of metal articles.